


Lock Your Doors at Night

by moonqueen



Category: EXO (Band), f(x)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 10:55:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7931959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonqueen/pseuds/moonqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry and Amber's new neighbours are... peculiar, at best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lock Your Doors at Night

**Author's Note:**

> Re-uploaded with permission from the original author.

”Amber we have like a billion storage boxes left, we’re not going to finish moving in today,” Henry whined as he threw himself on their bed, he and his girlfriend Amber had just moved from the States to Korea, and they were in the midst of moving-madness, or as Henry liked to call it: Hell.

“No!” Amber tried to pull her boyfriend up from the bed, but it seemed impossible, so she decided to lie down next to him instead, her face buried in a bunch of pillows, “it just doesn’t feel like a home before all furniture is in its place.”

Henry sighed, placing his hand on her back, “don’t worry about it, we’ll finish it tomorrow, if we’re still too tired I’ll just call Kris, Zhou Mi, and Victoria and force them to do the hard work, right now I just want to sleep.”

“It’s five in the afternoon Henry.”

“Jetlag.”

 

Falling asleep at five PM had its disadvantages, Henry would soon find out. Not only because he woke up at 3 AM, but also because of what he heard at 3 AM. It started out as a quiet humming of some sort, like someone was singing behind the walls. Then the noise grew, it became louder and more distinctive, as if someone next door loudly pitied themselves in agony. Henry tried to keep the noises out, which worked to an extent. That was until someone started screaming. At first it was like the previous groans of agony; slowly building up, calmly reaching the chorus, but then the chorus hit and the screams got incredibly loud, making him wonder what kind of 50 Shades inspired sex his neighbours had at this hour. The jokes however stopped being funny when the screaming didn’t stop. Henry counted fifteen long, long minutes of nothing but horrendous screaming from his neighbours’ apartment, several voices were screaming now, of those Henry were able to pick out was a high-pitched female voice, she was the one who started screaming in the first place, there was also a deeper male voice that seemed more despising than frightened, and then there was a roaring voice belonging to a female as well, sounding more like a monster than a human being.

“Amber,” Henry hissed, not-so-gently shaking his girlfriend awake, “someone’s yelling next door, you can hear it too, can’t you?”

It took Amber a few seconds to gain full consciousness, but as soon as she did (the expression on her face told Henry exactly at what time that was) the look on her face changed from tired to absolutely horrified, “is someone being murdered?” Then came the sound of a chainsaw, a lot of running, and doors being slammed shot loudly one after another, “our door is locked, isn’t it?” Amber nodded at their living room, “I can’t believe we live next to a serial killer.”

“You don’t know if it’s a serial killer,” Henry mumbled, hiding his face under the covers, admittedly pretty freaked out by what he could hear next door, “maybe they’re filming a really weird porno-“

“Dude,” Amber sent him an angry glare, but the look on her face wasn’t to be mistaken; she was freaked out as well, “maybe we should go visit them tomorrow? Let’s try to sleep now, as much as it’s creepy, I doubt our neighbours are brutally murdering someone right now, I think I saw the guy who lives in there earlier; he looked like your handsome mid-20 male, very nice.”

Henry rolled his eyes, “it’s always the handsome mid-20 males who turn out to be brutal serial killers, isn’t it?”

 

True to Amber’s words, their handsome mid-20 male neighbour looked very nice, he was quite a few centimetres taller than Henry, with dark skin and a lean frame (Henry tried his best to not lowkey hate him for being so God damned good-looking, especially if he was a murderer), “my name’s Kim Jongin,” he introduced himself with a bow, “you’re our new neighbours?”

Henry nodded, “my names Henry and this is my girlfriend Amber, we just moved here from Los Angeles and wanted to introduce ourselves. Do you live here alone?” He didn’t dare ask about the sounds from last night, if Jongin was a criminal he probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill Henry right at the spot.

“You’re from California?” Jongin’s eyes lit up; he was too cute to be a murderer, so Henry decided to approach him as naturally as possible, “my girlfriend’s from California too, her name’s Krystal, she’s in the kitchen right now I think, I suppose that answers your question as well, Krystal and I have lived here for almost two years now, Krystal?” He turned around to yell for his girlfriend who appeared behind him just a few seconds later.

Krystal was the most beautiful girl Henry had ever seen (well, except for Amber), her hair was long, straight, and black, she was tall but not abnormally, her figure was slim but not too bony, and her facial features seemed somehow familiar to Henry, as if he had seen the fair skin and charismatic brown eyes somewhere else earlier, “You’re American, haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” He asked in English, hoping it wouldn’t bother Jongin too much.

“I’m a model, there’s a chance you’ve seen me in a magazine or two,” she replied in English, her smile made Henry’s heart skip a beat, a beauty like this could no doubt be a cold-hearted killer, no way.

Amber was apparently just as aroused as Henry, because she too had her eyes locked on the insanely good-looking couple standing in front of them, “well we just wanted to say hi,” she mumbled nervously, “it was nice to meet you, we’ll probably throw a housewarming party once we get to unpack all our stuff so consider yourselves invited.”

“Aww are you leaving already?” Krystal asked with a pout as she grabbed Henry’s arm, “don’t you want to come in for a while and eat a snack?”

Henry and Amber looked at each other for a second, then both nodded at Krystal, “sure,” Henry said cheerfully despite still being rather scared of what may be hiding behind the door.

 

The apartment looked completely normal at first glance, it was similar to their own,  a big living room used for dining as well, a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom. The rooms were however not full of boxes, the furniture was all black and white, there were paintings that seemed very expensive hanging on the walls, and the floor was covered by a light grey carpet, that kind of floor you’d drop wine on at a party and spend the rest of your life cleaning afterwards. “It’s very stylish,” Amber complimented as she took off her shoes in the small entrance, “everything looks neatly cleaned and minimalistic,” it was sure admirable, but not the kind of interior design Henry and Amber would prefer.

“The apartment is expensive,” Jongin said with a shrug, “we wouldn’t live here if we didn’t have enough money to buy great art.”

Henry gave him an awkward smile, had Jongin not been so handsome he wouldn’t have been able to restrain from punching him in the face for a cocky comment like that. The apartment (and the couple who lived in it for that matter) almost seemed too perfect and it scared Henry a little bit. The entire living room was absolutely stainless; there was no dust to be seen, no dishes in the sink, no nothing, “do you have a maid to clean for you? This place is unreal.”

“My sister cleans for us daily when we’re at work,” when Krystal mentioned her sister her eyes went straight to a dwarf-sized door beside the refrigerator Henry had not noticed yet, “she’s a great maid, especially when she obeys the rules without disturbing us.”

The last sentence sounded a bit too morbid for Henry’s liking, and he couldn’t help grimace at it, hoping that nobody noticed, “what’s in there?” He pointed at the tiny door.

“Nothing,” Jongin quickly placed himself beside the fridge, hiding the door from Henry’s view, “don’t you want to sit down for a moment? Krystal is amazing at making patbingsu, she’ll make some for you.”

“Sounds good,” Amber took a seat, seemingly oblivious to what was going on, “that stuff was impossible to find in the States.”

“Tell me about it,” Krystal grinned at Amber, her attitude becoming a bit too sugary for Henry’s liking. The sweet smile had not been off her face for a second since she locked eyes with them at the front door, and every time she spoke her voice went up an octave, making Henry wonder if she’d (hopefully) lose her voice completely at some point.

“I’ll go to the bathroom,” he then excused himself, desperately needing a break from the odd atmosphere in the living room, not hearing Jongin’s wish for him to use the toilet in the bedroom instead of the one by the entrance.

 

Jongin’s suggestion would’ve however made a whole lot of sense if only Henry heard it, because as soon as he stepped into the bathroom he had to cover his mouth with his hands in order to not let out a screeching scream. The big bathtub was filled with red liquid, and judging by the smell it could only be blood. Henry felt like passing out; ever since he as a ten-year-old cut himself on glass and nearly died of blood-loss, that stuff hadn’t really been his forte. He slowly walked toward the bathtub, draining the view that awaited him with each step, _please let it be the colour from a bath bomb_ , he tried to calm himself down with no success; the smell was too strong, the liquid had to be blood.

Like a jump scare in a horror movie, a pale hand flew out of the water and grabbed Henry’s wrist as he finally reached the bathtub, causing him to scream loudly in fear. The lights in the bathroom started flickering as blood from the tub spilt all over the white floor, “let me go!” Henry shrieked and tried to shake the hand off him, and the hand did let go, but not until the lights went out completely, leaving Henry to clumsily stumble back to the living room, leaving a path of blood behind him, “Amber we’re going home right now.”

Just as the words escaped his lips loud knocks started to come from the windows at the balcony, similar knocks came from the tiny door next to Jongin by the fridge, “what in the world is going on?” Amber yelled, jumping up from the table to follow Henry out of the horrifying apartment.

“It seems like,” Krystal’s gaze went back to the little door, “Jessica didn’t do her work properly.” Her voice was no longer sugary sweet, it was completely monotone, not a hint of emotion hidden in her tone.

Jongin kicked the small door behind him before sending Henry an apologising smile, “we’re sorry about the inconvenience, remember to lock your doors at night.”

“Yeah,” Krystal repeated, glaring at the windows behind her, “lock your doors at night.”

 

Henry followed Krystal and Jongin’s advise and made sure to lock not only their front door but also their bedroom door and windows before going to sleep, “that place was freaky as Hell,” he mumbled as he turned off the lights, “their bathtub was a pool of blood.”

Amber moved closer to Henry, allowing him to pull her into a hug, “do you think they’re hiding someone in that little room beside their refrigerator, and on their balcony too? I did find it weird that the curtains were drawn when the sun shone so brightly outside. Dude we have to move out of here.”

Biting his lip, Henry let out a deep sigh, “I can’t believe we fucking bought an apartment next to a fucking ghost house, I really don’t want to move again.”

“It’s better than being killed by your psycho neighbours,” Amber whispered, “where do you think the screaming last night came from? Oh my God what if they killed her sister with a chainsaw last night? That’s why there was screaming and blood in the bathtub.”

“But what about the knocking from the door and the balcony?”

“Maybe they’re holding someone hostage.”

“It still doesn’t make sense, there was someone in the bathtub too, but it wasn’t a corpse, it grabbed my arm and tried to pull me down.” Retelling the frightening experience from the bathroom only reminded Henry of how disturbing the things they had just experience were, “do you think it was a ghost?”

Amber shrugged, obviously trying her very best to keep calm, “how about we try going to sleep now, perhaps it’ll all be gone tomorrow.”

“If only.”

 

The scary sounds at night continued, not just for one night, not for two, but for at least fourteen. Henry and Amber had made no efforts in running into their neighbours, and it seemed to work, because not once since the freaky apartment visit had they seen each other.

That did however not help their current situation in life, not when the loud chainsaw was on a rampage every night, not when the screaming never stopped when the clock first had hit 1 AM, and not when the constant sound of doors being knocked and kicked on was indefinite.

Eventually Henry had had enough, “we either move out right at this instant or we confront our neighbours about this, I can’t live like this anymore, I’m freaked out every second because it sounds like someone is being brutally murdered in the flat right next to my bedroom every damn night.”

Amber could only nod, “let’s move,” she agreed, “I don’t want to see those two ever again.”

 

They contacted the landlord and started putting all their belongings back into storage boxes the very same day, not willing to live a second more next to Jongin and Krystal. But just as they carried the last box out of their apartment, the door of Krystal and Jongin’s home opened by itself, a cold wind escaping from the apartment. “Do you think they’re home?” Henry muttered, images of Jongin running through the hallways with a chainsaw in his hands already running through his head, “it doesn’t look like it.”

“I couldn’t care less,” Amber started walking faster, “Henry let’s get the fuck out of here right now I don’t like this. Hey, what are you doing?!” She shouted as Henry let go of the box and walked towards the open door, “don’t do this Henry you know what goes on in there, it has to be some kind of trap.”

“Shh,” waved at Amber, signalling her to follow him into the apartment, “there’s nobody in here.” Then the screaming and knocking started again, sounding abnormally loud when it wasn’t heard through a wall, “come on.”

She reluctantly followed him into the blood bath that was Jongin and Krystal’s apartment, the living room was no longer clean, minimalistic and white, it smelled rotten and was smudged in blood and what seemed to be body parts, “Henry no,” Amber whispered, desperately trying to drag him out of the apartment, “let’s not do this, let’s leave right now and never get back, they’re going to murder us.” She just got to finish her sentence as the door slammed shot behind them, “I told you God damn it!” She screamed, running to the door to get out, but it was no use; the door was locked.

“Be quiet,” Henry hissed, “screaming will get us nowhere.”

“I suppose this is where I welcome you once again?” An unfortunately way too familiar voice appeared from behind them, followed by the sound of a chainsaw, “I’m glad you came back.” Jongin looked as relaxed as ever, despite being drenched in blood and holding a chainsaw like another American Psycho, “we didn’t get to finish the tour the last time you came by, but you discovered Jinri quite well by yourself, didn’t you Henry?”

 _The hand in the bathtub_ , “Jinri?”

Jongin nodded, a psychotic smile appearing on his lips, “she’s been there for months now, Jessica promised to get rid of the mess a long time ago, but it hasn’t happened yet, so Jinri remains in our bathroom, it’s quite a nuisance at times.”

 _You don’t say_ , Henry thought and felt a lump in his throat, the smell of blood was going to make him pass out soon, “h-how is she still alive? Did you kill her? What happens to the people you kill?”

“Who knows?” Jongin said, mocking a sad frown, “let’s just say we don’t have a normal way of taking care of people in this household.” The knocking on the tiny door grew louder, along with the screaming it almost drowned the sound of Jongin’s chainsaw, “Jessica will tell you all about it,” the knocking on the windows grew louder as well, and the chainsaw suddenly seemed like a mouse compared to the elephant that was the endless screams, “Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Wendy, Tiffany, and Minho will tell you about it too once you join them outside.”

Henry’s heart raced, he couldn’t think straight anymore, ‘neither could he see clearly, Jongin’s figure was nothing but a blurry mess, only the sounds of screaming still rang loudly in his ears, “please don’t kill us.”   
Jongin didn’t kill them, not yet, instead he walked to the little door, opening it slowly, “you can come out now.” The body of a girl rolled out of the small room, it looked dead at first, but then it started moving; twisting and bending in odd ways, a dry hiss coming from its lips, “say hello to Jessica,” Jongin smirked, “Krystal’s sister.”

Henry’s jaw dropped, “what is she?”

Jongin only laughed, “she is what happens to everyone who comes in Krystal’s way.”

On cue Krystal appeared behind Jongin, holding a scalpel in her hand, “I can’t wait to have fun with you two,” she smiled brightly again, her voice sugary sweet like the first time they met each other, “I’m sure you’ll love the balcony.” She then took Henry’s hand, forcing the scalpel through his palm, creating a hole deep enough for her entire finger to go through, “it’s fun isn’t it,” with strength Henry had never expected her to possess she dragged him to the couch, Jessica awkwardly limping after them, leaving Jongin alone with Amber out of Henry’s sight, “don’t look so sad,” Krystal cheered, “the fun has only just begun,” she took out a bigger knife, cutting Henry’s entire left hand off in a fast movement, ignoring his screeching screams of pain, “you had a scar on your thumb,” she pouted, giving the hand to Jessica, “you’re better off without it.”

It was then Henry noticed that Jessica didn’t have any left eye, she also only had one half of a mouth, the right side of it sewn together with a dirty thread, “h-how?”

“It’s not my fault that people are so flawed,” Krystal beamed, studying Henry’s hair with her fingers, “you should be thankful that I fix you for free. I do this to everyone who needs a quick fix; Chanyeol’s ears were kind of big so I cut them off, Baekhyun talked too much, and it’s not just that he talks, it’s that he always talks _shit_ ,” her tone was hysteric as she finished her sentence, silently calming herself down again, “Minho dumped me, nobody dumps me, he didn’t deserve to see me in the first place so I removed his eyeballs. Tiffany and Wendy always made fun of me, Jongin chopped them into pieces. It looks like he’ll have to do the same thing to you for carelessly walking into our bathroom even though Jongin told you not to.”

Henry shook his head, “no, please don’t. I beg you! Amber and I will leave this building right now and never come back, we’ll never tell anyone about you, never make fun of you, never.”

Krystal raised an eyebrow, “cute, but no. Did I ever tell you of what happened to Jessica? I was willing to give that dumb bitch everything,” Krystal threw the scalpel toward Jessica who carefully took a step to the side to avoid it, “Jessica always said she loved me, yet when I tried to go down on her one day, she just had to say no and push me away.”

“Isn’t she your sister?” Henry hissed, his voice dry from screaming, “t-that’s incest, that’s illegal.”

Krystal didn’t just look angry, she looked absolutely outraged, letting out a roaring shriek before impaling Henry’s chest with her knife, “Jongin!”

Henry saw his life flashing before his eyes, preparing himself for Jongin’s chainsaw, _I had a happy life,_ he forced the words through his head a million times before his thoughts wandered to Amber, had Jongin killed her already? He only gets to feel the stinging pain of the chainsaw before everything went black.

 

“Henry! Henry! Henry calm down it’s just a nightmare,” he woke up by Amber slapping his cheek, “bro you scream louder than Kris on that roller coaster we tried in Japan.”

Henry steadied his breathing, just a dream, it was just a dream, but how much of it was just a dream?

“What date is it?”

“January 5th, why?”

January 5th, they just moved into a new apartment, he fell asleep early because of the jetlag, there were no creepy neighbours next door, nobody killed him with a chainsaw; everything was fine, “I’ll go get a glass of water, I’ll be back in a minute.” His legs were tired, he felt a headache coming, but he was so relieved he felt like crying tears of happiness, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as he opened the door to their living room, he had known all along that ghosts or weird zombies didn’t exist.

“Hi Henry,” the voice made him drop his glass on the floor, shattering it into a million pieces, _Krystal_ , and there she was, sitting on their kitchen table, scalpel in one hand, a pair of scissors in the other, “I told you to lock your doors at night, didn’t I?”  
  
  


 


End file.
